Stallholders at the 2011 Oundle Food Festival, The Gourmet Spice Company, have just told me that they have been shortlisted as a finalist for the 'Food and Drink iNet Innovation Awards 2011'.  The Awards are in their fourth year and hosted this time by Jay Rayner, they have "built up a strong reputation for recognising and rewarding some of the most forward-thinking and innovative achievements in the food and drink sector across the region".

 As you can imagine, The Gourmet Spice Company are extremely pleased at being one of only three finalists in their category and can't wait for the Awards Ceremony in Nottingham on Nov 17th. They say "Regardless of the outcome, we're featuring heavily in their PR and Marketing beforehand and it's always nice to get more exposure for the brand. Obviously, it would be amazing to actually win though!"

Gourmet Spice Company was created by a food lover, Mark Hughes, to encourage people to think about how they can get more flavour from food. Particularly when prices are rising, "it's important to find ways of bringing out the best in whatever you buy, whether that's using cheaper cuts or even moving away from pre-prepared to 'real' food that's healthier, packed with flavour and often cheaper".

"It's also important to support British producers in these tough times, which is why we only use British oils, vinegars, salts & sugars in all our blends and infusions. We make everything by hand using interesting ingredients like rose petals, pomegranate, pure cacao and our very own 'bourbon pepper' and give the maximum flavour with the minimum fuss! "